Benched A&E Drama Series ‘Those Who Kill’ To Air On Sibling LMN

Good news and bad news for fans of A&E‘s new drama series Those Who Kill, which was pulled two weeks ago after two low-rated airings. The good news: The series is coming back on the air staring this coming Sunday. The bad news: It will air on A&E sibling LMN TV (aka Lifetime Movie Network), not exactly a vote of confidence to the show by A+E Networks brass who kept the announcement of the series’ relaunch super low-key with a post on Those Who Kill‘s Facebook page. LMN, part Lifetime Entertainment Services, airs a mix of female-skewing TV and theatrical movies. It only began airing original series last fall with a handful of offerings in the nonscripted investigative/crime space. This will be LMN’s first scripted series. In what looks like a burn-off run, new episodes of Those Who Kill will air at 10 PM Sundays. The first original episode this Sunday will be preceded from 8-10 PM by rebroadcasts of the show’s first two hours that already premiered on A&E.

The A&E debut of Those Who Kill starring Chloe Sevigny drew a soft 1.4 million viewers, down from the series debuts of A&E’s Bates Motel (3 million) and Longmire (4.1 million) and holding onto less than half of its Bates Motel lead-in. The freshman’s audience dropped to 830,000 in the second episode. In adults 18-49, it drew a 0.5 rating for Episode 1 and a 0.3 for Episode 2. Despite the low ratings, A&E’s decision to pull the series drew strong reaction from fans, who rallied behind the show. At the time of Those Who Kill‘s suspension A&E indicated that it was looking to relaunch the show, which it is now doing but on a much lower-profile network. Said one of the first viewers to comment on the news on Facebook, “What the eff is LMN?”

“I” agree…. “I” just happened upon it one night…THANK GOODNESS….and THEN it disappeared. SHAME on A&E….for not doing it right in the FIRST place. “I” will be watching at the newer location….just WISH it had a better placement. It’s a GOOD series as far as I had seen !!!

Vincent • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Completely agree. Buddy of mine has a small role on the show. I wouldn’t have known it existed if not for him. I was actually actively looking for the 2nd episode (I do most of my viewing online) and didn’t even know it aired until today, where the 3rd episode mysteriously appeared on Hulu.

I have no idea what A&E’s deal is, but you can’t find a show, you can’t watch it. It’s a shame. I really liked what I’ve seen so far.

Suzy • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I agree this show sure was not promoted at all. I didn’t know of this series until a few days before it originally aired and now (4.08.14) I just see that it is on Lifetime Movie channel. I already missed it because I deleted the series off my dvr when A&E cancelled.

I remember when Longmire was being promoted before it started on A&E and that was a few months in advance.

tob Roy • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

there is nothing wrong with this show, iy is just on the wrong network. LMN is ABSOLUTELY the wrong channel. folks that like dark UK thrillers, Breaking Bad, Hannibal and Boardwalk Empire should enjoy Those Who Kill, but those viewers are not turning into A*E and absolutely not LMN

Ally • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I couldn’t agree more with this assessment of the viewership target for Those Who Kill. I never saw a promo of the show and only happened upon it. I set the DVR and only got those first two episodes. I would never have thought this would be LMN material, but will check there to set the DVR.

jessica • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

A&E is available in Canada.
Lifetime has a Canadian version.
Lifetime Movie Network simply is not available in Canada.
Canadian fans of Those Who Kill are now pretty much screwed, unless they go illegitimate.

anita • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

It figures!! I was looking everywhere on my channel lineup… no Lifetime Movie Network. I caught the first 2 episodes on A&E and loved it. Then all of a sudden it was gone!

Talie • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Right before it launched, Chloe gave a shade-filled interview with TV Guide about the whole experience. She seemed to be fighting a lot things behind the scenes.

r0ckmypants • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Yeah, that article was pretty telling. How much could A&E expect from a show where even the lead actress doesn’t care about the material?

Charles • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Excellent show! I agree with the previous post that the show wasn’t advertised properly nor was it given time to increase viewership. I will definitely tune in to the new station as will my Mother and Aunt.

snoopy77 • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

This show had no redeeming qualities. None. “You have to be worse than them,” one of the characters said. And boy, were they! Buh-bye!

Fox21 Magic • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Behind the scenes, Morgan expresses some frustration that A&E, production company Imagine and studio Fox 21 would prefer a more conventional serial-killer-of-the-week procedural, while he’d like to make a complex, character-driven drama based on a Danish TV series. It’s the classic tale of the showrunner vs. the suits: “I’m challenging them to push [Sevigny’s character into darker places], and Fox 21 is trying to pull it back,” says Morgan. “They would like Chloë acting like Katherine Heigl.”

A three-part arc about a female perp also drew fire from the studio. He says, “I have Fox 21 yelling at me, ‘We don’t get it — she’s a killer, but we have sympathy for her! How are we supposed to feel?'”

Tyrant • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Any updates on Tyrant?!! 3rd director yet? How many showrunners?

CIO • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I guess A&E is afraid of anything not ducks. TWK looked like such a good show and was not given a chance by nervous network excecs. As usual, the people who make these decisions never stand up, letting hardworking creatve side take the fall.

Bob • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

A&E is lucky they have the ducks, otherwise they’d be out of business. Unfortunately, the duck crowd, A&E’s only audience now, doesn’t go for shows like Those Who Kill. “What, no guys with beards doing funny things in their ATVs???”

Christine • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I liked this show and have been scratching my head wondering where it went. I think there is a good story there. I only found it bc it came on after Bates Motel but didn’t see any advertising. They must really be trying to kill it with the new time slot as now it is up against Talking Dead and soon Mad Men.

r0ckmypants • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Yes, that’s exactly what they’re trying to do. It got a shot on A&E, failed, and now it’s getting shipped off to die on a network that airs old Lifetime movies and dramatic re-enactments of women killing their husbands.

Melsbells • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I’m upset about the show being pulled. It’s a great show. They gave it a crappy time slot to begin with and they didn’t advertise it properly. I bet if they had held off for more than 2 shows and actually promoted it. the show would have been a big success. I’ve never even heard of LMN or whatever the new station its on is…

eddie willers • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

The first episode was the first TV show that actually scared me on a level equal to a theatrical movie.

Too intense to be on Lifetime.

karen v. • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I agree with eddie. It scared me and I loved the whole premise with Ms. Seveigny doing a super “strange” girl detective.
Serial killer shows need to be dark.

A.M. Shorter • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

They should not pull a show after only 2 episodes. Give it some time. The only way I even knew it was on was b/c it followed Bates Motel – no advertising for it!!!! The show was unique, creative and creepy. I, too, felt like I was watching an actual movie and not a tv show. We know they made like 10 episodes – why not let them play out and see how the audience #’s are then? A&E was a great network for it to be on – too bad they gave up so soon. Sad!

Anonymous • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

That’s my opinion also. I stumbled on to the series via charter on demand. There is a huge audience out there who likes this realistic creepy stuff. A&E failed to promote the show. What a loss.

John F. • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

A&E executives should be ashamed of themselves. They gave this show absolutely NO MARKETING, then aired it in different time slots than what was announced in what few ads they mustered. And now, instead of manning up, correcting their mistakes and giving it a legitimate shot, they cart it off to a channel nobody knows exists – again with NO MARKETING. Talk about the gang that can’t shoot straight! Producers take note. If this is any indication of A&E’s commitment to scripted programming and marketing expertise, you’d be better off selling your show to Cal Worthington and his dog, Spot.

cubbiebeer • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

This sort of thing always happens when Hollywood tries to copy a show from another country. Showtime has done alright w/ Shameless but the original UK version is amazing. Centered around Frank played by David Threlfall. When I heard William H. Macy was doing it I thought they finally got it right but he’s more of an afterthought to Fiona in this version. Has anyone seen the original being human series & then actually been able to stomach what they’ve done w/ that show? This is what Hollywood is known for.

Former A&E Fan • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

A&E has forgotten the Arts part of A&E. And the Entertainment is very questionable. Im glad TWK is being given a chance on LMN. I will be watching.

Jennifer • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Why can’t they just put it on regular Lifetime network? This is horrible news. I don’t get LMN & honestly I watched the first two episodes on A&E on demand. I began watching because several coworkers were raving about the show. Boo A&E. Boo I say! You didn’t even give it a chance & now it will die for sure.

Stuart C. Hellinger • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I’ll have to find the show through other means as Cablevision does not carry LMN. Based on the first two episodes, I thought that it was good, but not a show for A+E or any Lifetime channel.

Interested • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

I liked watching the show on A&E as that channel takes more liberties with the language (closer to real life) but I will settle for LMN. Just like the first time I happened upon the show by accident, I was looking for something for my husband to DVR this afternoon couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the title. Hopefully they will show all 10 episodes. I enjoyed it, even the creepy part. Unfortunately I don’t enjoy Bates Motel, too bad because a lot of people seem to enjoy it. But then, I love Drop Dead Diva so go figure right.

Jess • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

You are so right they really didn’t just by what they played for chemercial I was not interested in watching the show at all… The name got me because I like shows like that

Anonymous • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

How about the fact that LMN is a movie network. Not for shows. So frustrating. I only keep it for the movies, now it’s moving more towards shows I will get rid of it.

Rick • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

First two episodes had my wife and I hooked. Absolutely no advertising for it. Bad move on A&E’s part. They’ll be sorry.

bob • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

You suck,you should have let people know about the series and aired it long enough for character development.

adam • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

Really liked the show…not the same old boring show…put it on fx…guarantee people watch it then

gene • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

The only reason I started watching the A&E network again was because of this show. I’m sorry to offend DD fans, but I think it is stupid and rehearsed. THK takes actual intelligence to understand. Shame on A&E. You’ve gone down hill from what you used to be over the last 2 decades.

Ben • on Mar 25, 2014 9:36 pm

No need to take a stab at the Duck fans to take your righteous shot @ the Execs @ A&E in regards to their handling of THK.

For the record, I am a huge fan of both the Duck show and THK. I will say the one constant with A&E is that the “Suits in charge” there truly seem like complete and utter dipsticks(not sure if I can use profanity on this site so “dipsticks” was the compromise I came up with LoL).